CN110771187B

CN110771187B - Virtual beacons

Info

Publication number: CN110771187B
Application number: CN201780092260.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: R.史密斯; P.阿尔维德森; L.威尔赫尔姆森
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Current assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Priority date: 2017-04-18
Filing date: 2017-04-18
Publication date: 2023-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 2037-04-18
Also published as: WO2018193286A1; US10966075B2; CN110771187A; EP3613223B1; EP3613223A1; AR111643A1; US20200059770A1

Abstract

Methods and systems for providing virtual beacons are presented. According to one aspect, a method for providing a virtual beacon at a first location includes: an information signal using a transmission power level Pj and comprising an announcement transmission power level PA is transmitted by a transmitter at a second location, which is geographically different from the first location, both transmission power levels being selected to indicate the distance d between the location of the receiver of the information signal and the first location. The signal transmitted from the second location mimics the signal that would have been generated by a beacon located at the first location. The information signals may be directed to one or more User Equipments (UEs) and/or may be concentrated at one or more specific target locations, rather than individual UEs.

Description

Virtual beacons

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to broadcast-only wireless communication devices ("beacons"), and more particularly, to creating "virtual" beacons using multi-antenna technology.

Background

With the introduction of a class of broadcast-only wireless communication devices, referred to herein as "beacons" and sometimes also as "accessibility" technologies, such as the "iBeacon" protocol developed by apple corporation, the internet of things (IoT) industry has made significant progress. Beacons are broadcast-only devices: they cannot receive data. Their purpose is therefore to allow for proximity detection and broadcast location specific information. For example, the beacon may be used to announce data, enable a smart phone, or trigger a User Equipment (UE) or other mobile computing device that is near or into the vicinity of the beacon to perform a particular action.

Conventional beacons

Many conventional beacons are Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons that transmit frames such as BLE frame 10 described below.

Fig. 1 illustrates the structure of a conventional Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon frame 10, defined in "Bluetooth Core Specification" [1 ]. The bluetooth protocol is well defined, with fields such as:

a preamble field 12 for synchronization and always set to "AA" for broadcast packets.

The access address field 14, also fixed for broadcast packets, is set to 0x8E89BED6.

Packet payload 16 contains header 18 and payload data 20.

A Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) 22 ensures the data integrity of the transmitted packet.

The header 18 includes data indicating the type of packet, as well as other information. The purpose of the packet is specified in a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) type field 24. The beacon transmission may be "connectible" or "connectionless", and the preferred embodiment is directed to a connectionless beacon, wherein the PDU type field 24 is set to "0010", which represents "avd_non_ind" or a connectionless, undirected announcement packet. Some fields are marked as Reserved for Future Use (RFU) 26. Other fields are important for bluetooth beacons:

The transfer add (TxAdd) bit 28 indicates that the address of the advertiser (advertisement) (contained in the payload) is public (txadd=0) or random (txadd=1).

The receive add (RxAdd) field 30 is reserved for other types of packets.

The length field 32 contains the packet length.

The payload data field 20 includes an address (AdvA) field 34 of the advertiser (which is a broadcast address 36 of the advertiser) and a data (AdvData) field 38 of the advertiser (which contains up to 31 bytes of broadcast data 40). Broadcast data 40 typically contains a number of data elements, also referred to as Information Elements (IEs), which are defined in "Supplement to the Bluetooth Core Specification" [2 ]. One such IE contains a "Tx Power Level" data type that indicates the transmit Power Level (Power Level) of the packet containing the data type. The Tx power level is defined as the radiated power level and is used by the receiver device to calculate the Path Loss (PL) of the received packet using the following equation:

Path loss = Tx Power Level-RSSIequation 1

Where the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) is the received signal strength of a received packet in decibels-milliwatts (dBm).

For example, ifTx Power LevelIf = +0 dBm and RSSI on the received packet is-60 dBm, then the total PL is +0- (-60) = +60 dB. In order to relate PL to distance, a PL model is required. The following equation can be used to calculate the distanced) Calculating PL:

equation 2

Wherein the method comprises the steps ofαIs the line-of-sight free space PL model coefficient, which assumes signal strength and 1/(distance) ² Proportionally drop and are used by the Bluetooth ™ alliance to estimate near PL. Applying this equation to the example scenario above, the UE can determine that PL of 60 dB corresponds to a distance of 10 meters. Thus, the receiver will assume that the source transmitter of this beacon packet is 10 meters away.

In general, the number of the devices used in the system,α=20. Clutter (clutters) is unusual within the first meter, so the equation above applies for distances less than a few meters. However, to accurately model PL over longer distances, the following equation includes an additional term to represent the parasitic loss that occurs at distances other than 1 meter due to clutter, whereβIs another PL coefficient:

equation 3

In the case where d is greater than 1 meter, the above formula can be reduced to:

equation 4

For 2.4 GHz signals, and willαAndβall set to 20, the above equation becomes:

Equation 5

For a 2.4GHz radio transmitter, the first meter loss = 40dB; for a 5GHz transmitter, first meter loss = 47dB; for a 24 GHz transmitter, the first meter loss = 67dB.

Environmental clutter, such as outdoor trees and buildings, or indoor shelves, walls, and people, can change the equation. In the clutter case, the loss can be calculated instead using this equation:

equation 6

The UE may use other equations based on information about the environmental clutter (or assumptions made).

PL calculation is only an estimate and is affected by many problems such as fading, chip calibration, antenna pattern, etc. There is often uncertainty in the computation; however, UE devices often employ averaging algorithms to help reduce these errors and improve line of sight as the device approaches the transmitter with fewer obstructions. In the simple expression of PL given in equation 5 above, it is assumed that free space is independent of distance. A more accurate model would use a channel model that depends on distance such that when the distance is greater than a certain threshold, the attenuation is assumed to be greater than free space, as in the case of equation 6 above.

All of these calculations depend to a large extent on knowledge of the Tx power level used to estimate PL; this is the parameter used by the UE to locate the transmitter. This parameter is thus configured as accurate as possible in each beacon transmitter in order to enable the UE to locate the transmitter.

The following example of real world measurements shows iPhone6 and iPad3 RSSI levels from beacons. The example of iPhone6 shows a close proximity beacon at-63 dBm, representing 0.18m or 18cm. Assume that the loss in the near field of the first meter is 1/r ² And the first meter loss is 40dB, then 0.18 meters has a loss of 25 dB. This means that the beacon power is-38 dBm (i.e., tx power level = -38 dBm).

-38 dBm–25 dBm = -63 dBm

Using Tx power level = -38dBm, then at 2.13m PL would be: 40+20 log ₁₀ (2.13) =47 dB, so that rssi= -38-47 db= -85dBm. This closely matches the measured RSSI values shown in the table below (-86 dBm, -89 dBm, etc.).

The above data shows that the virtual beacon can indicate a distance of 18cm to 10m using a low power level of-60 dBm to-95 dBm.

Figure 2 illustrates the frequency locations of 40 Radio Frequency (RF) channels defined by BLE operating in the 2400 MHz-2483.5 megahertz (MHz) Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM) global unlicensed band. BLE defines 40 RF channels, each of which has a bandwidth of 1-2 MHz. As can be seen in fig. 2, BLE frequencies range from 2402 MHz to 2480 MHz, separated by 2 MHz. Center frequency of each channel k f _k The method comprises the following steps:f _k 2402+k MHz, where k=0, 2, …, 78.

Figure 3 illustrates the frequency locations of 37 data channels and 3 announcement channels within 40 channels defined by BLE. The frequency allocations for the data channels are indicated with solid lines and the frequency allocations for the announcement channels are indicated with dashed lines. The data channel numbers range from 0 to 36, while the announcement channel numbers are 37, 38 and 39. The announcement channel is for beacons and is a narrowband channel.

Fig. 4 illustrates the frequency location of a common Wi-Fi channel relative to an announcement channel defined by BLE and some of the data therein. The frequency allocations for the BLE data channels are indicated with solid lines, the frequency allocations for the BLE announcement channels are indicated with simple dashed lines, while the frequency allocations for WiFi channels 1, 6 and 11 are shown with lines with a "dash-dot line" pattern. As can be seen from fig. 4, the frequency allocations for the announcement channels 37-39 were deliberately chosen to coexist with the usual Wi-Fi channels.

Fig. 5 illustrates a typical conventional beacon deployment. In fig. 5, bluetooth beacon 42 is transmitting signals that are detectable by wireless devices, such as UEs 44A, 44B, and 44C, which may be collectively referred to as "UEs 44" or individually referred to as "UEs 44". A UE may also be referred to as a wireless device, mobile terminal, mobile station, etc. Example UEs include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, computers, tablets, and other devices capable of communicating via a wireless communication protocol.

For UEs (such as UE 44A) that are very close to beacon 42 (e.g., within a first distance D1 from beacon 42), beacon 42 is referred to as a "immediate" beacon or immediate UE 44A. For UEs that are farther from beacon 42 than the first distance D1, but less than the second distance D2 from beacon 42 (such as UE 44B), beacon 42 is referred to as a "near" beacon. For UEs farther away from beacon 42 than D2, such as UE 44C, beacon 42 is referred to as a "far" beacon. For purposes of description, the following conventions will be used: the signal strength detected by the UE from the immediate beacon will be referred to as high (H), the signal strength detected by the UE from the near beacon will be referred to as medium (M), and the signal strength detected by the UE from the far beacon will be referred to as low (L). In the example illustrated in fig. 5, each UE 44 displays the signal strength detected from the beacon 42: UE 44A receives a high-strength signal, UE 44B receives a medium-strength signal, and UE 44C receives a low-strength signal.

Fig. 6 is a graph illustrating measured signal strength (Y-axis) of the beacon 42 versus distance (X-axis) from the beacon location. (in this example, the beacon 42 is attached to or very near a piece of clothing, such as a shirt.) the strength of the signal (e.g., reported as RSSI by the UE) is highest at the beacon 42, and the strength decreases with increasing distance from the beacon 42. The UE determines the RSSI of the physical beacon and calculates the distance in combination with the Tx power level value contained within the beacon transmission. According to some criteria, the distance may be characterized as "immediately adjacent," near, "or" far.

Beacons can be used as indoor positioning systems, which enable mobile commerce, such as location-oriented advertising when a UE is within range of a particular store or even a vending machine. Beacons may also be used at points of interest (POIs), for example, broadcasting identities of POIs, geographic locations of POIs, other information about POIs, and so forth.

Beacons typically use BLE transmitters to broadcast identity information, which may include a 16 byte globally unique identifier (UUID) that is typically used to identify a company. Additional "primary" and "secondary" 2 byte integers are often included to advertise a particular beacon. This information is then received and demodulated by nearby mobile devices, which may allow a location-aware Operating System (OS) or application to trigger certain actions, such as providing push notifications to the UE.

The ecosystem of beacons has become important, with many manufacturers each providing unique shape parameters, product colors, and different battery lives. Owners of stores who purchase beacons can easily install beacons throughout their stores. Beacons do not require network connectivity, which minimizes power consumption, simplifies beacon installation, and keeps costs low. Because beacons broadcast only, they cannot track users because beacons have no knowledge of the devices around them.

However, beacons also have drawbacks. For example, a store owner deploying beacons throughout the store must then manage these devices, including ensuring that the beacons have not been removed and are still operating. An important issue with today's beacons is their maintenance, and a key concern with maintenance is battery life, which uses standard batteries and long beacon intervals, typically ranging between 6-24 months. For example, if a battery operated beacon is powered down and stops transmitting, the beacon may be difficult to locate for battery replacement or repair unless it is still in the same location as it was deployed. Other maintenance issues include configuration, damage, and theft. Because of their low cost and design, most beacons are not network connected and therefore are typically not software upgradeable (or at least cannot be remotely upgraded via a wireless network) and thus are equipped with fixed software capabilities. Briefly, beacons are intended to be employed and discarded and replaced as new technologies evolve. The beacon devices must be ordered, programmed, and then managed as any other asset in the store. Due to the small size of beacons and accessibility to the general population, measures must also be taken to avoid their damage or theft.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure addresses the shortcomings of conventional beacons described above by: the physical beacon is replaced with a beacon that is generated from a different physical location (e.g., location Y) but creates a signal at location X that is similar to the signal that would have been generated by a conventional beacon at location X (referred to herein as a "virtual beacon"), which radiates a signal from the location (e.g., location X) where it is located. In one embodiment, the signals are transmitted using multiple antenna techniques at different physical locations Y, such that the device detecting the signals will experience signal properties similar to those that would have been produced by a beacon actually located at location X. Examples of multi-antenna techniques that may be used for this purpose include, but are not limited to, cellular telecommunications networks. In one embodiment, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system can use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna arrays for this purpose. Also, massive MIMO (M-MIMO) and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) may be used.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, a method for providing a virtual beacon at a first location includes: transmitting using a transmit power level P by a transmitter at a second location that is geographically different from the first location _T And includes advertising the transmission power level P _A The two transmit power levels are selected to indicate a distance d between the location of the receiver of the information signal and the first location.

In one embodiment, P _T And P _A Is selected asSo that at the receiver of the information signal, P of the information signal _A And a received power level P _R The difference between will indicate the distance d between the position of the receiver of the information signal and the first position.

In one embodiment, transmitting the information signal includes: determining a distance d between a position of a receiver of the information signal and the first position; determining a received power level P of an information signal indicative of a distance d between a position of a receiver of the information signal and a first position _R And P _A The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the Determining reaching the determined received power level P _R Required transmit power level P _T The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the And transmitting a signal having the determined transmission power level P to the location of the receiver of the information signal _T Is provided.

In one embodiment, a transmit power level P is determined _T Comprising determining P according to the following equation _T ：Wherein D is _R Is the distance from the transmitter to the receiver of the information signal.

In one embodiment, a transmit power level P is determined _T Comprising determining P according to the following equation _T ：Wherein D is _R And d is in meters.

In one embodiment, the received power level P _R Simulating the received power level P of a signal that would otherwise be generated by a beacon at a first location _R 。

In one embodiment, a transmitter transmits a plurality of information signals, one to each of a plurality of receivers corresponding to the information signals, each information signal having its own received power level P at the corresponding receiver _R 。

In one embodiment, the received power level P of one of the information signals is transmitted _R Different received power level P from another of the transmitted information signals _R 。

In one embodiment, one of the transmitted information signals has a different signal type, signal frequency, or signal protocol than the other of the transmitted information signals.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises advertising the transmission power level P with a choice _A Maintained at a constant value and the selected transmit power level P is adjusted as the distance d between the position of the receiver of the information signal and the first position changes _T 。

In one embodiment, the method further comprises selecting a transmit power level P _T Maintained at a constant level and the selective announcement transmission power level P is adjusted as the distance d between the position of the receiver of the information signal and the first position changes _A 。

In one embodiment, the method further comprises adjusting the selected transmit power level P as the distance d between the location of the receiver of the information signal and the first location changes _T And selecting an advertised transmit power level P _A Both of which are located in the same plane.

In one embodiment, transmitting the information signal includes: determining a distance D between a position of a transmitter of the information signal and a first position _L The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the Determining a received power level P of an information signal indicative of a distance d between a position of a receiver of the information signal and a first position _R And P _A The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the Determining reaching the determined received power level P _R Required transmit power level P _T The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the And transmitting a signal having the determined transmission power level P to the location of the receiver of the information signal _T Is provided.

In one embodiment, a transmit power level P is determined _T Comprising determining P according to the following equation _T ：。

In one embodiment, a transmit power level P is determined _T Comprising determining P according to the following equation _T ：Wherein D is _L In meters.

In one embodiment, transmitting the information signal includes: configuring the plurality of antennas to generate a plurality of signals having an amplitude and phase relationship such that a coherent Radio Frequency (RF) field is generated at a first location; and transmitting the plurality of signals using a plurality of antennas such that a coherent RF field is generated at a first location, the coherent RF field carrying the information signal and having a desired power distribution relative to the first location.

In one embodiment, the coherent RF field has a maximum coherence at the first location, and wherein the coherence decreases with increasing distance from the first location.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises transmitting the plurality of signals using a plurality of antennas to generate a plurality of coherent RF fields, each coherent RF field carrying its own information signal.

In one embodiment, the location of one of the plurality of coherent RF fields is different from the location of another of the plurality of coherent RF fields.

In one embodiment, the information signal carried by one of the plurality of coherent RF fields is different from the information signal carried by another of the plurality of coherent RF fields.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises receiving channel feedback information from a receiver of the information signal and using the received channel feedback information to adjust the transmit power level P of the information signal _T 。

In one embodiment, the channel feedback information includes sounding reference signals.

In one embodiment, the channel feedback information includes OFDM pilot tones for channel estimation.

In one embodiment, the channel feedback information includes channel state information such as that transmitted in an 802.11 NDP channel sounding.

In one embodiment, the channel feedback may be a direct estimate of the MIMO channel based on training symbols sent to the client device.

In one embodiment, the information signal comprises at least one from the group of: bluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon; institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15 beacons; IEEE 802.11 beacons.

In one embodiment, the information signals are transmitted using a MIMO protocol.

In one embodiment, MIMO beamforming is used to vary the amplitude of the transmitted information signal.

In one embodiment, MIMO zero forcing is used to minimize the information signal received by a radio receiver other than the receiver of the information signal.

In one embodiment, the information signals are transmitted using distributed MIMO.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises generating, by a plurality of transmitters, a plurality of information signals.

In one embodiment, the information signals are transmitted using MU-MIMO.

In one embodiment, the transmitting step is performed by a plurality of transmitters at locations geographically different from the first location.

In one embodiment, a transmitter includes: LTE transmitter, fifth generation (5G) transmitter, new air interface (NR) transmitter, or Advanced Antenna System (AAS) supporting transmitter.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a radio transceiver includes: a radio transmitter; one or more processors; and a memory storing instructions executable by the one or more processors, whereby the radio transceiver is operable to: transmission using a transmission power level P _T And includes advertising the transmission power level P _A The two transmit power levels are selected to indicate a distance d between a location of a receiver of said information signal and a first location, the first location being geographically different from a location of the radio transmitter.

In one embodiment, P _T And P _A Is selected such that at the receiver of the information signal, P of the information signal _A And a received power level P _R The difference between the first and second positions will indicate the position of the receiver of the information signalDistance d between them.

In one embodiment, the target location is a location of a receiver of the information signal, and wherein transmitting the information signal comprises: determining a distance d between a position of a receiver of the information signal and the first position; determining a received power level P of an information signal indicative of a distance d between a position of a receiver of the information signal and a first position _R And P _A The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the Determining reaching the determined received power level P _R Required transmit power level P _T The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the And transmitting a signal having the determined transmission power level P to the location of the receiver of the information signal _T Is provided.

In one embodiment, the transmit power level P is determined _T Comprising determining P according to the following equation _T ：Wherein D is _R And d is in meters.

In one embodiment, the received power level P _R Imitate the received power level P of a signal that would otherwise be generated by a beacon located at a first position _R 。

In one embodiment, a radio transceiver transmits a plurality of information signals, one to each of a plurality of receivers of a corresponding information signal, each information signal having its own received power level P at the corresponding receiver _R 。

In one embodiment, the radio transceiver is further operable to select an announcement transmission power level P _A Maintained at a constant value and the selected transmit power level P is adjusted as the distance d between the position of the receiver of the information signal and the first position changes _T 。

In one embodiment, the radio transceiver is further operable to select a transmit power level P _T Maintained at a constant level and the selective announcement transmission power level P is adjusted as the distance d between the position of the receiver of the information signal and the first position changes _A 。

In one embodiment, the radio transceiver is further operable to: adjusting the selected transmit power level P as the distance d between the position of the receiver of the information signal and the first position changes _T And selecting an advertised transmit power level P _A Both of which are located in the same plane.

In one embodiment, transmitting the information signal includes: configuring the plurality of antennas to generate a plurality of signals having an amplitude and phase relationship such that a coherent RF field is generated at a first location; and transmitting the plurality of signals using the plurality of antennas such that a coherent RF field is generated at the first location, the coherent RF field carrying the information signal and having a desired power distribution relative to the first location.

In one embodiment, the radio transceiver is further operable to transmit a plurality of signals using a plurality of antennas to generate a plurality of coherent RF fields, each carrying its own information signal.

In one embodiment, the radio transceiver is further operable to receive channel feedback information from a receiver of the information signal and to use the received channel feedback information to adjust the power characteristics of the information signal.

In one embodiment, the information signal comprises one from the group of: bluetooth or BLE beacons; an IEEE 802.15 beacon; IEEE 802.11 beacons.

In one embodiment, MIMO zero forcing is used to minimize information signals received by radio receivers other than those of the information signals.

In one embodiment, the information signals are transmitted using MU-MIMO.

In one embodiment, the radio transceiver includes a plurality of transmitters at locations geographically different from the first location.

In one embodiment, the transmitter comprises an LTE transmitter, a 5G transmitter, an NR transmitter, or an AAS-enabled transmitter.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a network for providing virtual beacons, the network node being adapted to transmit a signal using a transmit power level P _T And includes advertising the transmission power level P _A The two transmit power levels are selected to indicate a distance d between a location of a receiver of the information signal and the first location, which is geographically different from a location of the radio transmitter.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a network node for providing virtual beacons includes: means for transmitting a data signal using a transmission power level P _T And includes advertising the transmission power level P _A The two transmit power levels are selected to indicate a distance d between a location of a receiver of the information signal and the first location, which is geographically different from a location of the radio transmitter.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a network node for providing virtual beacons includes: a transmission module operable to transmit a signal using the transmission power level P _T And includes advertising the transmission power level P _A The two transmit power levels are selected to indicate a distance d between a location of a receiver of the information signal and the first location, which is geographically different from a location of the radio transmitter.

According to yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network node, cause the network node to: transmission using a transmission power level P _T And includes advertising the transmission power level P _A The two transmit power levels are selected to indicate a distance d between a location of a receiver of the information signal and the first location, which is geographically different from a location of the radio transmitter.

According to yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any of the methods described herein.

According to yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a carrier comprising the computer program mentioned above, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal or a computer readable storage medium.

Those skilled in the art will recognize the scope of the present disclosure and appreciate additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the embodiments in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate several aspects of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

Fig. 1 illustrates a structure of a conventional Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon frame.

Fig. 2 illustrates frequency locations of forty Radio Frequency (RF) channels defined by BLE.

Figure 3 illustrates the frequency locations of 37 data channels and 3 announcement channels within forty channels defined by BLE.

Fig. 4 illustrates the frequency location of a common Wi-Fi channel relative to some of the data and announcement channels defined by BLE.

Fig. 5 illustrates a conventional deployment of an actual beacon.

Fig. 6 is a graph illustrating signal strength of a conventional beacon measured by a User Equipment (UE) versus distance of the UE from the conventional beacon.

Fig. 7 illustrates a system for providing virtual beacons in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 is a graph illustrating signal strength of a virtual beacon measured by a UE versus distance of the UE from a conventional beacon, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 illustrates a system for providing virtual beacons according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 illustrates the results of a massive multiple-input multiple-output (M-MIMO) simulation, showing that massive MIMO can produce "bubbles" of coherent RF signal power at specific locations, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 illustrates a system for providing virtual beacons in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 is a graph illustrating signal strength of a virtual beacon measured by a UE versus distance of the UE from a conventional beacon according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 13 is a network node for providing virtual beacons in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 14 is a network node for providing virtual beacons in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 15 is a virtual network node for providing virtual beacons in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 16 is a flowchart of a method for providing virtual beacons, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 17 is a flowchart of a method for detecting a virtual beacon according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The embodiments set forth below represent information that enables those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.

The concept of virtual beacons is presented that enables a multi-antenna system, such as a cellular radio system, to emulate a beacon signal at a defined location in a client site. In one embodiment, signals are sent to the various devices such that the signals detected by those devices have signal properties similar to those generated by actual beacons at those defined locations. In another embodiment, the signal is transmitted to a particular location to generate a coherent Radio Frequency (RF) field similar to that which would be generated by an actual beacon at that location.

Examples of multi-antenna techniques that may be used for this purpose include, but are not limited to, cellular telecommunications networks. In one embodiment, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system can use a massive multiple-input multiple-output (M-MIMO) antenna array for this purpose. The intended receiver does not have to employ multi-antenna technology.

Virtual beacons

The present disclosure proposes a virtual beacon, e.g., a signal generated by a third generation partnership project (3 GPP) device, and which when detected by a User Equipment (UE) appears to be from an actual beacon at a particular location, and such a signal is made readable only at UEs sufficiently close to the virtual beacon location using multi-antenna techniques. Since the devices determine their relative positions to the beacons based on the power levels of the signals transmitted by the beacons, the methods and systems disclosed herein provide the UE with an indication of its distance from the virtual beacon by manipulating the signal power received by the UE, which the UE uses to determine its position relative to the virtual beacon position. In one embodiment, the virtual beacon generated is a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon, but the concepts described herein may be adapted to generate virtual beacons of other protocols.

With the aim of UE changing the actual transmission power

Fig. 7 illustrates a system for providing virtual beacons in accordance with an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. In the embodiment illustrated in fig. 7, the network node 46 with the multi-antenna transmitter creates a virtual beacon that appears to the UEs 44A, 44B, and 44C to be at the same location 48 occupied by the bluetooth beacon 42 in fig. 5. The network node 46 achieves this by: multiple antennas are used to beam-form transmissions directed to each UE 44 such that each UE 44 receives a beacon signal having the same strength that the UE would have received from an actual beacon. Because the virtual beacons appear to be actual beacons at a particular location, such as location 48, the terms "virtual beacon 48," "virtual beacon location 48," and "location 48" will be used synonymously herein.

In one embodiment, the multi-antenna transmitter is capable of beamforming the individual signals directed to each UE 44, wherein the content and/or signal strength of each signal is tailored to the target UE 44. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, UE 44A receives a signal 50 of-30 dBm, UE 44B receives a signal 52 of-40 dBm, and UE 44C receives a signal 54 of-50 dBm. The virtual beacon energy is maximized at each UE 44, rather than at the virtual beacon location 48. Each of which Each of the signals 50, 52 and 54 announces itself to have a transmit power of 10 dBm. To generate the desired P _R The transmitter must compensate for PL between the antenna and the UE. Thus, the transmitter transmits power P at a higher level _T The signal is issued, the transmit power taking into account both the path loss PL and the beamforming gain, also called "coherence gain". For example, for a beamforming gain of PL of 80 dB and +20 dB between transmitter 46 and UE 44B, P _T Will be set to +20 dBm so that when signal 52 reaches UE 44B, P _R Will be-40 dBm as expected. Each of signals 50, 52 and 54 may have their own P independent of the other signals _T 。

Using equations 1 and 2 above, ue 44a calculates the Path Loss (PL) as 10 dBm- (-30 dBm) =40 dB, which corresponds to a distance of 1 meter from virtual beacon location 48. UE 44B calculates PL as 10 dBm- (-40 dBm) =50 dB, which corresponds to a distance of 3 meters from virtual beacon location 48. UE 44C calculates PL as 10 dBm- (-50 dBm) =60 dB, which corresponds to a distance of 10 meters from virtual beacon location 48.

To provide the received power P _R And announce the transmission power P _A The correct relation between the network nodes 46 requires selection of the transmission power P _T So that P at the target UE _R Is the correct value. P (P) _R And P _A The desired relationship between:

equation 7

Where d is the line of sight between the UE and the virtual beacon location. However, the network node 46 needs to consider the distance between the transmitter antenna array and the target UE, which will determine the received power P _R ：

Equation 8

Combining the two equations above yields:

equation 9

Replaced with the definition of PL from equation 4, and willαAndβset equal to 20, giving:

equation 10

Equation 11

Equation 12

Thus, in one embodiment, the network node 46 is able to calculate the transmit power level P to use based on the distance D from the transmitter antenna array to the UE and the distance D from the UE to the virtual beacon location _T . In alternative embodiments, the calculation may be performed by another entity or network node that informs the network node 46 of the P to use _T And P _A Or by a combination of nodes.

Other methods may also be used to calculate PL. For example, a transmitter (e.g., an enhanced node B (eNB)) may estimate PL with other signals it receives. Examples of such signals include, but are not limited to, signals such as 3GPP signals, sounding Reference Signals (SRS), uplink transmissions from UEs, and the like. The transmitter may also request reports from the UE to determine the signal strength of the eNB seen at the UE and use these reports to determine PL.

Fig. 8 is a graph illustrating signal strength of a virtual beacon measured by a UE versus distance of the UE from a conventional beacon, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the embodiment shown in fig. 8, the network node 46 operates as shown in fig. 7, e.g., it transmits a high power signal to the UE 44A, a medium power signal to the UE 44B, and a low power signal to the UE 44C. Fig. 8 shows such a point that: each UE 44 receives a signal having a power corresponding to the signal that would have been received by that UE 44 from the actual beacon, and from that power the distance between the UE 44 and the virtual location of the virtual beacon 48 can be calculated.

As the UE 44 moves, the network node 46 will adjust the strength of the signal directed to that particular UE 44 to mimic the change in signal strength that particular UE 44 would have detected from the actual beacon. For example, if the UE 44A moves away from the location of the virtual beacon 48, the network node 46 will decrease the strength of the signal (e.g., signal 50 in fig. 7) to match the "physical beacon Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) versus distance" curve shown in fig. 8. Likewise, if the UE 44C moves toward the location of the virtual beacon 48, the network node 46 will increase the strength of the signal (e.g., signal 54 in fig. 7) accordingly.

Targeted to UE, change advertised transmit power

Fig. 9 illustrates a system for providing virtual beacons in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. In the embodiment shown in fig. 9, the network node 46 sends signals to each UE 44 with the same actual power, but the advertised power of each signal, e.g. the power over which the packet was transmitted, as reported by the packet itself via a special Information Element (IE) for that purpose, is modified to give the UE the impression that: it is closer to or farther from the actual beacon at location 48.

The Tx power level may be defined, for example, as-127 to +127dBm, as defined in section 1.5 of [2], however most devices limit the range to-30 to +20dBm. This field can be used to set the UE perceived range to the target beacon location. It may be noted here that a higher value than is actually possible for the transmission may be set. In this way, in principle, the device can be allowed to determine its distance also as a large distance, where it does not actually receive a signal from a real beacon.

Shown in FIG. 9In the example, the network node 46 sends a signal 56 to the UE 44A, the signal 56 having a received power P of-40 dBm _R And advertises itself as delivered at 0 dBm. Using the equation above, UE 44A calculates PL of 0 dBm- (-40 dBm) =40 dB, which corresponds to a distance of 1 meter from virtual beacon location 48. (if the MIMO system generates a virtual beacon at-30 dBm, the Tx power level can be expressed as 10 dBm for the same distance.) the network node 46 sends a signal 58 to the UE 44B, which signal 58 also has an actual power of-40 dBm, but announces itself as being transmitted at 10 dBm. UE 44B calculates a PL of 50dB, which corresponds to a distance of approximately 3 meters from virtual beacon location 48. Also, UE 44C receives a-40 dBm signal 60, which signal 60 announces itself as being transmitted at 20 dBm; the UE 44C calculates 60 PL of dB, which corresponds to a distance of 10 meters from the virtual beacon location 48.

Beacons for bluetooth devices enter different power classes based on their highest output power capabilities, as described in section 3 of section [1 ].

Power level 1, pmax=20 dBm, pmin < =4 dBm

Power class 2, pmax=4 dBm, pmin= -30 dBm (proposal)

Power class 3, pmax=0 dBm, pmin= -30 dBm (proposal)

Thus, the beacon has a large range of output power levels, which is why the Tx power level is included in order for the UE device to estimate the distance to the transmitter.

Conventional beacons contain other important data type fields:

service Universal Unique Identifier (UUID), where there are six data types defining UUIDs for three sizes:

16 bit bluetooth service UUID

32 bit bluetooth service UUID

Global 128-bit service UUID

UUIDs are in "ISO/IEC 11578:1996 Information technology-Open Systems Interconnection-Remote Procedure Call (RPC)", "ITU-T Rec. X.667 ISO/IEC 9834-8:2005" and are specified by IETF RFC 4122. The 16-bit and 32-bit service UUIDs indicate client advertisement information to be transmitted in a particular beacon.

The Local Name (Local Name) is the Local Name of the device.

Ignore flags in unconnectable beacons.

Manufacturer specific data

Tx power level

Channel map update indication

Advertisement interval

LTE Bluetooth device Address

The virtual beacon may include all the same information as the regular beacon. In addition to broadcasting UUID information required for location-based advertisement and Tx power level required to enable the UE to estimate distance as discussed, the virtual beacon may also indicate advertisement interval and channel map indication. Virtual beacons, while not generated from physical beacon hardware having a Medium Access Control (MAC) Organization Unique Identifier (OUI) that makes the assignment, may have an OUI that is software-assigned, which may be sold through a licensing arrangement.

Virtual beacons using M-MIMO

The above method may be implemented using standard LTE devices, which typically use 2x2 or 4x4 multi-antenna arrays to generate BLE signals directed to a particular UE. However, another method that may be used in the presence of M-MIMO deployments is to generate focused "bubbles" of coherent RF signal power at specific locations. In this way, an LTE network node with M-MIMO can create a volume of space where the beacon signal exists at a level detectable by the UE or other device.

M-MIMO with 16, 32, 64, 128, 256 or more antennas will soon become a reality in cellular networks. The antenna array may be used to carry multiple spatial streams, thus significantly increasing the bandwidth delivered to the UE (which by extension also increases the data rate). The antenna array may also be used for coherent beamforming, or using a predefined codebook that typically limits the phase resolution of the antennas, or using an explicit feedback method that can generate UE-specific focused beams.

Fig. 10 illustrates the results of an M-MIMO simulation showing the area where M-MIMO can generate coherent RF signal power at a particular location, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the simulation represented in fig. 10, 400 "scatterers", i.e. objects blocking or deflecting radio signals, have been randomly placed into a 800 x 800 λ (λ=wavelength) simulation space 62, with 100 antenna arrays located outside 1600 λ. For frequencies of 2.7GHz, where λ=0.10 m, the m-MIMO antenna array 64 is 160m far from the 80m×80m region. The 10λ×10λ (1 m×1m) portion of the simulation space 62 is enlarged and displayed as the simulation space 66. Fig. 10 shows the simulation space 66 under two different simulation conditions—using a 10 antenna array (labeled "66L") and using a 100 antenna array (labeled "66R"). Simulation space 66L shows moderately high energy levels distributed throughout. The simulation space 66R shows a focal point energy source that is at least 5 dB higher than the surrounding area.

The simulation shows that M-MIMO can generate a focal region of coherent RF signal power at a specific location in a region where channel characteristics allow for high multipath. Simulation results show that the power of the coherent beamforming gain is increased by 5 dB over the incoherent beamforming gain, but an increase of up to 10 dB using 100 antennas is theoretically possible. The theoretical beamforming gain using 256 antennas should be 24dB (8 x 3 dB) higher than the incoherent power gain of the same 256 antennas. For example, given the relatively low power of the iBeacon signal (typically 0 dBm), when the UE is 1 meter from the target indicator, it is only necessary to generate the virtual beacon to a level that appears to be-40 dBm.

This capability creates another implementation in which the remote station generates a virtual beacon by creating an area of beacon signal energy distribution around the desired location such that the virtual beacon's RSSI in combination with the advertised Tx power distribution approximates the same RSSI versus distance distribution as the physical beacon. Fig. 11 shows an example of this.

Targeting location

Fig. 11 illustrates a system for providing virtual beacons in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. In the embodiment shown in fig. 11, network node 46 with M-MIMO antenna array 64 creates a focused RF field 68 at virtual beacon location 48. RF field 68 has high coherence at location 48 and lower coherence farther from location 48. In the embodiment shown in fig. 11, UE 44A detects a high power RF field 68, UE 44b detects a medium power RF field 68, and UE 44C detects a low power RF field 68. In one embodiment, the virtual beacon energy is maximized at the virtual beacon location 48, rather than at any particular UE. Beamforming may provide additional power gain. For example, the transmission power P _T = +30 dBm with a path loss of 75dB, which results in P of-45 dBm _R For example, using a MIMO transmitter with 64 antennas, P can be determined due to coherent beamforming gain (where 18=3log2 (64)) _R An increase of 18 dB results in a received power of-27 dBm. This ensures that even P _T And P _A Is selected to generate virtual beacons, P in the massive MIMO case _R And P _A Virtual beacon power is defined. In short, when P is calculated _T In this case, the eNB or other transmitter may consider how the beamforming gain may increase the received signal power P _R 。

Fig. 12 is a graph illustrating signal strength of a virtual beacon created by a UE measured M-MIMO antenna array 64 versus distance of the UE from a virtual beacon location 48, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The solid line graph represents the coherence level of multiple RF signals transmitted to the same location 48, which results in a power reading (e.g., RSSI) that the UE will make at that distance from the virtual beacon location 48. That is, the RSSI of the virtual beacons approximates the same RSSI versus distance distribution as the physical beacons.

The ability of the remote station to model the "close proximity" is dependent on the power of the remote station, the close proximity distance, and the specified Tx power level of the virtual beacon. It is expected that the remote site will reach maximum energy limited by many factors such as regulatory, distance, antenna array factors, etc.

The subject matter disclosed herein exploits the capabilities of beamforming. For example, M-MIMO with 256 antenna elements will enable focused beamforming gains up to 24dB greater than non-beamforming transmit power. This means that the non-beamforming power (i.e. the conducted power plus the antenna gain) can be reduced such that the transmit power level P _T Is too weak to recover anywhere in the cell unless the additional beamforming power is such that there is a sufficiently high signal to noise plus interference ratio (SINR) to recover. As a result, the virtual beacon can be restored only at the desired location within the cell, e.g., near the first location.

Furthermore, M-MIMO at the transmitter can be used to direct NULL to receivers within the cell that are not near the desired first location. These two capabilities of M-MIMO-the ability to focus information signals on receivers near the virtual beacon location and the ability to focus NULL signals (which eliminate or mask information signals) on receivers not near the virtual beacon location-enable the eNB to control whether the virtual beacon is recoverable across the cell as well as across many different receivers.

It should be noted that a system operating as disclosed herein need not be limited to use with only one of the various methods described above, but may use one or more techniques simultaneously. For example, network node 46 may generate a coherent RF field 68 as shown in fig. 11 to create one virtual beacon and use the UE-targeted techniques shown in fig. 7 and 9 to create other virtual beacons. Likewise, a coherent RF field 68 may be generated, including advertising a change in Tx power level relative to the distance of the UE from that location.

The actual power adjustment as shown in fig. 7 and the advertised power adjustment as shown in fig. 9 may be adjusted in a stepwise or continuous manner. It should be noted, however, that while these implementations are practical, using this technique may make it possible for the UE to detect that it is negotiating with a virtual beacon instead of an actual beacon: the actual beacon will typically not change the Tx power level dynamically and the detected power from the actual beacon will typically not change in a stepwise manner, but instead continuously as the distance to the actual beacon changes. This makes it possible for the UE to be programmed to reject signals from which it determines that it is a virtual beacon and not an actual beacon. Continuous power adjustment techniques such as those described in fig. 7 and coherent RF field techniques such as those described in fig. 9 are unlikely to be detected by the UE as virtual beacons, rather than actual beacons.

As used herein, the terms "multiple antennas," "multiple antenna array," and the like are not intended to be limited to antennas that are collocated with each other, but may be implemented by sets of antennas or antenna arrays that are not collocated with each other, e.g., they may be geographically distinct from each other.

The methods described herein may be used to create virtual beacons that appear to be broadcast continuously, constantly, periodically or aperiodically.

Fig. 13 is a network node for providing virtual beacons in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. In the embodiment shown in fig. 13, the network node 46 includes a transceiver 70, the transceiver 70 including one or more processors 72 and a memory 74 storing instructions executable by the one or more processors 72. In the embodiment shown in fig. 13, the network node 46 includes one or more radio units 76, which radio units 76 are attached to a plurality of antennas 78 and have one or more transmitters 80 and one or more receivers 82. In the embodiment shown in fig. 13, the transceiver 70 comprises a network interface 84, the network interface 84 being operable for communication with another network node or a core network, for example.

Fig. 14 is a network node for providing virtual beacons in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. In the embodiment shown in fig. 14, the network node 46 comprises: a transmission module 86 for transmitting the transmission power level P _T And includes advertising the transmission power level P _A The two transmit power levels are selected to indicate a distance d between a location of a receiver of the information signal and a first location that is geographically different from a location of the radio transmitter.

Fig. 15 is a virtual network node 88 for providing virtual beacons in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. In the embodiment shown in fig. 15, virtual network node 88 includes a control module 90 for controlling the operation of one or more network nodes 46. In the embodiment shown in fig. 15, the control module 90 includes one or more processors 92 and a memory 94 storing instructions executable by the one or more processors 92, and a network interface 96 for communicating with another network node or telecommunications network 98. In one embodiment, the virtual network node 88 may include one or more radio units 76 attached to the plurality of antennas 78 and having one or more transmitters 80 and one or more receivers 82. The virtual network node 88 is operable to transmit the usage transmit power level P _T And includes advertising the transmission power level P _A The two transmit power levels are selected to indicate a distance d between a location of a receiver of the information signal and a first location that is geographically different from a location of the radio transmitter.

Fig. 16 is a flowchart of a method for providing virtual beacons in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. In the method shown in fig. 16, step 100 includes: transmitting using a transmission power P by a transmitter in a second location physically different from the first location _T And includes advertising the transmission power level P _A Two transmit power levels are selected to indicate a distance d between a location of a receiver of the information signal and the first location. The information signal may be transmitted continuously, constantly, periodically or aperiodically (e.g., triggered or detected based on the needs to be transmitted). In embodiments where the signal is directed to a UE in the vicinity of the virtual beacon location (rather than to the virtual beacon location itself), the transmitter may pause or abort the process if it detects that there is no UE in the vicinity of the virtual beacon location.

Fig. 17 is a flowchart of a method for detecting a virtual beacon according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. In the embodiment shown in fig. 17, the method includes: receiving an information signal at a receiver (step 200), determining a received power of the information signalP _R And announce power P _A (step 202) and providing the transmitter of the information signal with the received power P in respect of the information signal _R Is provided (step 204). In one embodiment, the feedback may include channel feedback, such as RSSI. In one embodiment, the transmitter of the information signal may use the feedback to adjust the transmit power of the information signal such that the information signal is at a desired receiver power level P _R Is received by a receiver of the information signal. In this way, the network node 46 or its operating system is able to compensate for existing environmental conditions-both static and dynamic-that contribute to PL and compensate accordingly.

While the examples given above use power levels to convey distance to virtual beacons, other transmission characteristics may also be used. For example, in one embodiment, the network node 46 may use Wi-Fi round trip delay messages for this purpose.

Advantages are that

The virtual beacons and associated concepts described herein have several advantages over conventional beacons:

the subject matter of the present disclosure includes: means for enabling the beacon to operate at multiple transmission power levels, which may be configured on a per virtual beacon basis or as specified by the store owner, to include nearby pedestrian or vehicle traffic. This means that a store owner may configure some beacons to have a very small coverage area, perhaps only a radius of one to a few meters, while other beacons outside the store may be configured to have a larger coverage area, perhaps tens or hundreds of meters.

The subject matter of the present disclosure also enables beacons to be located anywhere inside or outside the customer premises, for example, at the entrance location of a shopping mall where the customer's store is located, or possibly at a nearby high traffic location near the store.

The presently disclosed subject matter addresses the problem of battery life by removing the need for a battery, as beacons are maintained as part of the cellular network.

The presently disclosed subject matter eliminates theft and damage. The virtual beacon cannot be stolen, marked or damaged.

The presently disclosed subject matter provides network connectivity with beacon generation software. Virtual beacons are generated by network software and are upgradeable without changing the location or configuration of the beacons.

The subject matter of the present disclosure enables a blanket deployment of beacons with consistent configuration and operation such that control of the management of this type of advertisement is maintained.

The presently disclosed subject matter couples UE location information with M-MIMO technology to generate location specific beacon signals around individual UEs.

The presently disclosed subject matter further changes the signal strength of the generated beacon signal based on the relative location of the UE and the client-defined location.

The subject matter of the present disclosure defines components that use techniques to generate virtual beacons to generate all useful operating characteristics of the beacons, thereby avoiding all problems associated with real physical beacons.

The presently disclosed subject matter utilizes M-MIMO technology to provide new previously unaccounted commercial offers that can be sold to service providers as a software upgradeable feature.

The subject matter of the present disclosure is ecologically friendly, helping to eliminate the diffusion of physical technologies that require disposable batteries, which themselves would require disposal.

The presently disclosed subject matter enables new capabilities of beacons by removing location restrictions and enabling customers to place beacons in previously unreachable locations, such as at the entrance of a shopping mall, in a food plaza near a customer store, or virtual beacons may be located at seats in movie theatres for targeted announcements of "you have been selected … …".

The presently disclosed subject matter enables new opportunities for E911 by providing locations for exit components, such as fire exits and/or outbound paths to exits.

The presently disclosed subject matter enables virtual beacons to be transmitted at different Tx power levels, resulting in a perception of greater distance from the desired beacon location. Beacons may be transmitted at lower Tx power levels to enable finer location tracking for specific locations within the venue. These power levels enable distances to be calculated in a qualitative manner, e.g., in the different ranges of close proximity (within 50 cm), near (between 50 cm and up to 5 meters), and far (from 2-5 meters to up to 30-50 meters).

The presently disclosed subject matter enables a cellular network to send notification information to a UE device, such as the availability of a particular service in an advertising area, because beacons can be used to trigger UE notifications without requiring 3GPP network operation.

The presently disclosed subject matter enables a customer to deploy as many virtual beacons as desired without having to purchase, configure and maintain physical hardware, verify battery or network configuration, or handle theft and vandalism.

The subject matter of the present disclosure enables beacons to be managed as a service set. Hardware beacons must be managed separately; however, the virtual beacons may be mass programmed with an application program such that all virtual beacons for a store or chain of stores can be reprogrammed to advertise the same overall web page.

The virtual beacons also avoid the RF shadow problem encountered by conventional beacons, where the signal is attenuated by walls or posts, causing large errors in distance calculation. The virtual beacon may utilize cellular fingerprint data to further improve the received signal strength on a user-by-user basis.

The virtual beacons may be UE-specific and need not be generic. For example, a virtual beacon transmitted to one UE may advertise a 15% discount, while a virtual beacon transmitted to another UE may advertise a 25% discount.

Virtual beacons can help mitigate fraud by periodically changing their beaconing and applying these changes through an application feedback loop. For example, wolmar may decide to update their iOS applications after a nationwide change in their virtual beacons transmitted by the network, accepting notification from a new set of beacon Identifiers (IDs).

The virtual beacon location may be identified using a sticker (tracker). Configuration of the location may be achieved using a UE device located by the 3GPP network or by features of the decal such as the ability to generate intermodulation products.

The virtual beacon can perform all currently defined sets of operations for the physical beacon while introducing new unknown capabilities.

The following acronyms are used throughout this disclosure.

3GPP third Generation partnership project

Fifth generation of 5G

AAS advanced antenna system

BLE Bluetooth low energy

CPU central processing unit

CRC cyclic redundancy check

dBm dB-mW

eNB enhanced or evolved node B

IE information element

ID identifier

IoT (Internet of things)

ISM industrial scientific medicine

ITU-T International telecommunication Union telecommunication standardization sector

LTE long term evolution

MAC medium access control

MHz megahertz (MHz)

MIMO multiple input multiple output

M-MIMO massive multiple input multiple output

MU-MIMO multi-user multiple input multiple output

MTC machine type communication

NDP null data packet

NR new air interface

OFDM orthogonal frequency division multiplexing

OS operating system

OUI organization unique identifier

PDU protocol data unit

PL path loss

POI points of interest

RF radio frequency

Request for comments by RFC

RFU reservation for future use

RPC remote procedure call

RSSI received signal strength indicator

RX reception

SRS sounding reference symbols

SINR signal to interference plus noise ratio

Tx transmission

UE user equipment

UUID globally unique identifier

The following terminology is used throughout this disclosure.

Beacon wireless transmit-only device

iBeacon apple BLE beacon Standard

vBeacon virtual beacon.

Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow.

Reference is made to:

[1] bluetooth Core Specification v 5.0.0, specification of the Bluetooth System, specification volumes 0-7, covered Core Package Version:5.0, release date: 2016 12 months 6 days.

[2] The authors were not known as "Supplement to the Bluetooth Core Specification: specification of the Bluetooth cube System", CSS Version 7, release date: 2016 12 months 6 days.

[3] UUIDs are standardized by the Open Software Foundation (OSF) as part of a Distributed Computing Environment (DCE).

[4] The UUID is documented as part of ISO/IEC 11578:1996"Information technology Open Systems Interconnection-Remote Procedure Call (RPC)' and more recently.

[5] ITU-T rec.x.667 ISO/IEC 9834-8:2005. Information technology-open systems interconnection-procedure for handling OSI registration grants: generation and registration of a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) and its use as an asn.1 target identifier component.

[6] RFC 4122, globally unique identifier (UUID) URN namespace.

Claims

1. A method for providing a virtual beacon at a first location, the method comprising:

transmitting, by a transmitter at a second location that is geographically different from the first location, a usage transmit power level P _T And includes advertising the transmission power level P _A Two transmit power levels are selected such that: at the receiver of the beacon, the P of the beacon _A And a received power level P _R The difference between will indicate the distance d between the position of the receiver of the beacon and the first position, the beacon comprising a signal similar to that which would have been produced by a conventional beacon at the first position and having the received power level P _R The received power level P _R Simulating the received power level P of the signal that would otherwise result from a conventional beacon at the first location _R 。

2. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the beacon comprises:

determining the distance d between the location of the receiver of the beacon and the first location;

determining the received power level P of the beacon indicating the distance d between the location of the receiver of the beacon and the first location _R And P _A ；

Determining reaching a determined received power level P _R The required transmission power level P _T The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the And

transmitting to the location of the receiver of the beacon a signal having a determined transmission power level P _T Is provided.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the transmit power level P is determined _T Comprising determining P according to the following equation _T ：

P _T ＝pathloss(D _R )-pathloss(d)+P _A

Wherein D is _R Is the distance from the transmitter to the receiver of the beacon.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the transmission power level P is determined _T Comprising determining P according to the following equation _T ：

Wherein D is _R And d is in meters.

5. The method of any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the transmitter transmits a plurality of beacons, one beacon to each of a plurality of receivers of the corresponding beacon, each beacon having its own received power level P at the corresponding receiver _R 。

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the received power level P of one of the transmitted beacons _R Received power level P different from another one of the transmitted beacons _R 。

7. The method of claim 5, wherein one of the transmitted beacons has a different signal type, signal frequency, or signal protocol than another of the transmitted beacons.

8. A method as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4, comprising maintaining a selected advertised transmit power level PA at a constant value and adjusting a selected transmit power level P as the distance d between the location of the receiver of the beacon and the first location changes _T 。

9. A method as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4, comprising selecting a transmission power level P _T Is maintained at a constant level and follows the position and the first of the receivers of the beaconAdjusting the selected advertised transmit power level P by changing the distance d between locations _A 。

10. The method of any of claims 2 to 4, comprising: adjusting a selected transmit power level P as the distance d between the location of the receiver of the beacon and the first location changes _T And a selected advertised transmit power level P _A Both of which are located in the same plane.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the beacon comprises:

determining the distance D between the location of the transmitter of the beacon and the first location _L ；

Determining a received power level P of the beacon indicative of the distance d between the location of the receiver of the beacon and the first location _R And P _A ；

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the transmit power level P is determined _T Comprising determining P according to the following equation _T ：

P _T ＝pathloss(D _L )+P _A 。

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the transmit power level P is determined _T Comprising determining P according to the following equation _T ：

P _T ＝20log ₁₀ (D _L )+P _A

Wherein D is _L In meters.

14. The method of any of claims 11-13, wherein transmitting the beacon comprises:

configuring a plurality of antennas to generate a plurality of signals having an amplitude and phase relationship such that a coherent radio frequency, RF, field is generated at the first location; and

transmitting the plurality of signals using the plurality of antennas such that the coherent RF field is generated at the first location, the coherent RF field carrying the beacon and having a desired power distribution relative to the first location such that a received power level P _R Simulating the received power level P of a signal that would otherwise be generated by a conventional beacon at said first location _R 。

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the coherent RF field has a maximum coherence at the first location, and wherein the coherence decreases with increasing distance from the first location.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising: the plurality of signals are transmitted using the plurality of antennas to generate a plurality of coherent RF fields, each carrying its own beacon.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein a location of one of the plurality of coherent RF fields is different from a location of another of the plurality of coherent RF fields.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein a beacon carried by one of the plurality of coherent RF fields is different from a beacon carried by another of the plurality of coherent RF fields.

19. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4 and 11 to 13, further comprising: receiving channel feedback information from the receiver of the beacon and using the received channel feedback information to adjust the transmit power level P of the beacon _T And/or the announcement of the transmission power level P _A 。

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the channel feedback information comprises at least one from the group of:

detecting a reference signal;

orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM, pilot tones for channel estimation;

channel state information;

null data packet NDP channel sounding information; and

direct estimation of the channel derived from training symbols sent to the receiver of the beacon.

21. The method of any of claims 1-4 and 11-13, wherein the beacon comprises at least one from the group of:

bluetooth or bluetooth low energy BLE beacon;

institute of electrical and electronics engineers IEEE 802.15 beacons; and

IEEE 802.11 beacons.

22. The method of any of claims 1-4 and 11-13, wherein the beacon is transmitted using a multiple-input multiple-output, MIMO, protocol.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein MIMO beamforming is used to change the amplitude of the transmitted beacon.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein MIMO zero forcing is used to minimize the beacons received by radio receivers other than the receiver of the beacon.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the beacon is transmitted using distributed MIMO.

26. The method of claim 22, further comprising: a plurality of beacons are generated by a plurality of transmitters.

27. The method of claim 22, wherein the beacon is transmitted using multi-user MIMO MU-MIMO.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting step is performed by a plurality of transmitters at locations that are geographically different from the first location.

29. The method of any of claims 1-4, 11-13, and 28, wherein the transmitter comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) transmitter, a fifth generation (5G) transmitter, a new air interface (NR) transmitter, or a transmitter supporting an Advanced Antenna System (AAS).

30. A radio transceiver, comprising:

a radio transmitter;

one or more processors; and

a memory storing instructions executable by the one or more processors, whereby the radio transceiver is operable to:

transmission using a transmission power level P _T And includes advertising the transmission power level P _A Two transmit power levels are selected such that: at the receiver of the beacon, the P of the beacon _A And a received power level P _R The difference between will indicate the distance d between the position of the receiver of the beacon and a first position which is geographically different from the position of the radio transmitter, the beacon comprising a signal similar to that which would have been generated by a conventional beacon at the first position and having the received power level P _R The received power level P _R Simulating the received power level P of the signal that would otherwise result from a conventional beacon at the first location _R 。

31. The radio transceiver of claim 30, wherein transmitting the beacon comprises:

32. The radio transceiver of claim 31, wherein the transmit power level P is determined _T Comprising determining P according to the following equation _T ：

P _T ＝pathloss(D _R )-pathloss(d)+P _A

33. The radio transceiver of claim 32, wherein the transmit power level P is determined _T Comprising determining P according to the following equation _T ：

Wherein D is _R And d is in meters.

34. The radio transceiver of any of claims 31 to 33, wherein the radio transceiver transmits a plurality of beacons, one beacon to each of a plurality of receivers of a corresponding beacon, each beacon having its own received power level P at the corresponding receiver _R 。

35. The radio transceiver of claim 34, wherein the received power level P of one of the transmitted beacons _R Received power level P different from another one of the transmitted beacons _R 。

36. The radio transceiver of claim 34, wherein one of the transmitted beacons has a different signal type, signal frequency or signal protocol than the other of the transmitted beacons.

37. The radio transceiver of any of claims 31 to 33, wherein the radio transceiver is further operable to transmit the selected announcement of the power level P _A Maintained at a constant value and adjusting a selected transmit power level P as the distance d between the location of the receiver of the beacon and the first location changes _T 。

38. The radio transceiver of any of claims 31-33, wherein the instructions are executable via the one or more processors, the radio transceiver further operable to select a transmit power level P _T Maintained at a constant level and adjusting a selected advertised transmit power level P as the distance d between the location of the receiver of the beacon and the first location changes _A 。

39. The radio transceiver of any of claims 31-33, wherein the instructions are executed via the one or more processors, the radio transceiver further operable to: adjusting a selected transmit power level P as the distance d between the location of the receiver of the beacon and the first location changes _T And a selected advertised transmit power level P _A Both of which are located in the same plane.

40. The radio transceiver of claim 30, wherein transmitting the beacon comprises:

41. The radio transceiver of claim 40, wherein the transmit power level P is determined _T Comprising determining P according to the following equation _T ：

P _T ＝pathloss(D _L )+P _A 。

42. The radio transceiver of claim 41, wherein the transmit power level P is determined _T Comprising determining P according to the following equation _T ：

P _T ＝20log ₁₀ (D _L )+P _A

Wherein D is _L In meters.

43. The radio transceiver of any of claims 40 to 42, wherein transmitting the beacon comprises:

44. The radio transceiver of claim 43, wherein the coherent RF field has a maximum coherence at the first location, and wherein the coherence decreases with increasing distance from the first location.

45. The radio transceiver of claim 43, wherein the instructions are executable via the one or more processors, the radio transceiver further operable to transmit the plurality of signals using the plurality of antennas to generate a plurality of coherent RF fields, each coherent RF field carrying its own beacon.

46. The radio transceiver of claim 45, wherein a location of one of the plurality of coherent RF fields is different from a location of another of the plurality of coherent RF fields.

47. The radio transceiver of claim 45, wherein a beacon carried by one of the plurality of coherent RF fields is different from a beacon carried by another of the plurality of coherent RF fields.

48. The radio transceiver of any of claims 30-33 and 40-42, wherein the radio transceiver is further operable to receive channel feedback information from the receiver of the beacon and use the received channel feedback information to adjust the power characteristics of the beacon.

49. The radio transceiver of claim 48, wherein the channel feedback information comprises at least one from the group of:

detecting a reference signal;

channel state information;

null data packet NDP channel sounding information; and

50. The radio transceiver of any of claims 30 to 33 and 40 to 42, wherein the beacon comprises one from the group of:

Bluetooth or bluetooth low energy BLE beacon;

institute of electrical and electronics engineers IEEE 802.15 beacons; and

IEEE 802.11 beacons.

51. The radio transceiver of any of claims 30 to 33 and 40 to 42, wherein the beacon is transmitted using a multiple-input multiple-output, MIMO, protocol.

52. The radio transceiver of claim 51, wherein MIMO beamforming is used to vary the amplitude of the transmitted beacon.

53. The radio transceiver of claim 51, wherein MIMO zero forcing is used to minimize the beacons received by radio receivers other than the receiver of the beacon.

54. The radio transceiver of claim 51, wherein the beacon is transmitted using distributed MIMO.

55. The radio transceiver of claim 51, wherein the beacon is transmitted using multi-user MIMO MU-MIMO.

56. The radio transceiver of claim 30, wherein the radio transceiver comprises a plurality of transmitters at locations that are geographically different from the first location.

57. The radio transceiver of any of claims 30 to 33, 40 to 42 and 56, wherein the transmitter comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) transmitter, a fifth generation (5G) transmitter, a new air interface (NR) transmitter or a transmitter supporting Advanced Antenna Systems (AAS).

58. A network node, the network node being adapted to:

59. A network node, comprising:

a component transmitting a transmit power level P _T And includes advertising the transmission power level P _A Two transmit power levels are selected such that: at the receiver of the beacon, the P of the beacon _A And a received power level P _R The difference between will indicate the distance d between the position of the receiver of the beacon and a first position which is geographically different from the position of the radio transmitter, the beacon comprising a signal similar to that which would have been generated by a conventional beacon at the first position and having the received power level P _R The received power level P _R Simulating the received power level P of the signal that would otherwise result from a conventional beacon at the first location _R 。

60. A network node, comprising:

a transmission module operable to transmit a signal using the transmission power level P _T And includes advertising the transmission power level P _A Two transmit power levels are selected such that: at the beaconAt the receiver, P of the beacon _A And a received power level P _R The difference between will indicate the distance d between the position of the receiver of the beacon and a first position which is geographically different from the position of the radio transmitter, the beacon comprising a signal similar to that which would have been generated by a conventional beacon at the first position and having the received power level P _R The received power level P _R Simulating the received power level P of the signal that would otherwise result from a conventional beacon at the first location _R 。

61. An apparatus for providing a virtual beacon at a first location, comprising means for performing the method of any of claims 1 to 29.

62. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 29.